Related papers: The Gromov-Winkelmann theorem for flexible varieti…

We study some properties of the varieties of deformations of free groups in compact Lie groups. In particular we prove a conjecture of Margulis and Soifer about the density of non-virtually free points in such variety, and a conjecture of…

This is the first of two papers which construct a purely algebraic counterpart to the theory of Gromov-Witten invariants (at all genera). These Gromov-Witten type invariants depend on a Calabi-Yau A-infinity category, which plays the role…

We call a finite group G ultrasolvable if it has a characteristic subgroup series whose factors are cyclic. It was shown by Durbin--McDonald that the automorphism group of an ultrasolvable group is supersolvable. The converse statement was…

An action of a group $G$ on a set $X$ is said to be quasi-n-transitive if the diagonal action of $G$ on $X^n$ has only finitely many orbits. We show that branch groups, a special class of groups of automorphisms of rooted trees, cannot act…

To any automorphism, $\alpha$, of a totally disconnected, locally compact group, $G$, there is associated a compact, $\alpha$-stable subgroup of $G$, here called the \emph{nub} of $\alpha$, on which the action of $\alpha$ is topologically…

A theorem of Gerald Schwarz [24, Thm. 1] says that for a linear action of a compact Lie group $G$ on a finite dimensional real vector space $V$ any smooth $G$-invariant function on $V$ can be written as a composite with the Hilbert map. We…

We consider birational projective contractions f:X -> Y from a smooth symplectic variety X over the complex numbers. We first show that exceptional rational curves on X deform in a family of dimension at least 2n-2. Then we show that these…

We prove that a semi-direct product of two finite rank free groups $F_k$ and $F_n$ such that $F_k$ acts on $F_n$ by polynomially growing automorphisms acts properly isometrically on a finite dimensional CAT(0) cube complex provided some…

Let $Z$ be an affine algebraic variety and $X$ be a smooth flexible variety. We develop some criteria under which $Z$ admits a closed embedding into $X$. In particular, we show that if $X$ is isomorphic (as an algebraic variety) to a…

We construct a model space $C(\gsp(\bR^{2n}))$ for the variety of Abelian simply transitive groups of affine transformations of type ${\rm Sp}(\bR^{2n})$. The model is stratified and its principal stratum is a Zariski-open subbundle of a…

Let X be a compact Kaehler manifold of complex dimension n. Let G be a connected solvable subgroup of the automorphism group Aut(X), and let N(G) be the normal subgroup of G of elements of null entropy. One of the goals of this paper is to…

We prove a general version of the amenability conjecture in the unified setting of a Gromov hyperbolic group G acting properly cocompactly either on its Cayley graph, or on a CAT(-1)-space. Namely, for any subgroup H of G, we show that H is…

Quasi-homogeneous surfaces, or Gizatullin surfaces, are normal affine surfaces such that there exists an open orbit of the automorphism group with a finite complement. If the action of the automorphism group is transitive, the surface is…

We study the automorphism group of Hall's universal locally finite group $H$. We show that in $Aut(H)$ every subgroup of index $< 2^\omega$ lies between the pointwise and the setwise stabilizer of a unique finite subgroup $A$ of $H$, and…

In this paper we show that an affine space is determined by the abstract group structure of its group of regular automorphisms in the category of connected affine varieties. To prove this we study commutative subgroups of the group of…

Given a connected reductive algebraic group $G$ with a Borel subgroup $B$ and a quasiaffine spherical $G$-variety $X$, we prove that every $G$-orbit $Y$ contained in the regular locus of $X$ can be connected by a $B$-normalized additive…

We study the stabilized automorphism group of a subshift of finite type with a certain gluing property called the eventual filling property, on a residually finite group $G$. We show that the stabilized automorphism group is simply…

We generalize the positive solution of the Frobenius conjecture and refinements thereof by studying the structure of groups that admit a fix-point-free automorphism satisfying an identity. We show, in particular, that for every polynomial…

Let $G$ be a permutation group on a set $\Omega$. A subset of $\Omega$ is a base for $G$ if its pointwise stabiliser in $G$ is trivial. In this paper we introduce and study an associated graph $\Sigma(G)$, which we call the Saxl graph of…

We continue our program initiated in [arXiv:0912.4261] to consider supersymmetric surface operators in a topologically-twisted N=2 pure SU(2) gauge theory, and apply them to the study of four-manifolds and related invariants. Elegant…